Falling from the Sky
by LastofTheTimeGoats
Summary: This is an original work that was initially based off of the anime, "To Love Ru". Constructive criticism and ideas are all graciously accepted. Thanks, and enjoy the read. I understand the formatting needs some work but I beg of you to bear with it until I can fix it. I honestly would love it if you left a review.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

2,371 astronomical miles away from the Milky Way's Galactic Core

12:27:13; Sunday the 15th of August

Being on border patrol wasn't exactly Kaymen's idea of fun. He didn't really have trouble finding fun. That time he led an assault against the cybernoid was fun. Watching the Kantarian home planet crumble away into a black hole was fun. But flying the same path around the Melosartifex capital ship was not fun. The capital ship was home to the family that ruled most of the known universe, the Melosartifex royalty, as well as almost half of the home planets population. It was a large white sphere nearly 190 miles in diameter, and contained its own ecosystem, gravity field, and a small rift reactor core that held enough power to supply energy to every part of the ship. Kaymen was completing his 63rd lap around the white globe of a spaceship in his FIREFIGHTER ship when his comrade in arms, Menosis, who was flying behind him, piped up on the COM channel. "Hey Kay Kay. How you holdin up over there?" he jested over the line. Kaymen replied flatly, "I'm fine. And I thought I told you not to call me that."Kaymen was constantly teased by his fellow officer because of his name, and he usually tried to not let it bug him. "Okay, I'll stop calling you that how does that sound Kay-man?" he laughed over the radio. "It's an improvement, but it still needs work." Kaymen replied with dripping sarcasm. They were now flying side by side together, almost racing to be in front. Suddenly the radio began to crackle wildly and a small object zipped in-between them, screeching as the metal object scrapped Menosis's ship. damaging the paint of his FIREFIGHTER. "As if I wasn't already a bad driver, now I have to explain this too!" he cursed loudly. But Kaymen was more interested in whatever the object was more than to be concerned about a paint job. The capital ship COM channel, which was hardly ever used, came to life as Astral, Captain of the royal guard, came into view on the screen. "Attention FIREFIGHTER patrols! Lady Lily has escaped once again. Your orders are to retrieve her unharmed and bring her back to the ship! She is flying in an unmarked rocket pod of her own creation." Lady Lily, eldest daughter of Lord Melosartifex, had just recently turned 17, and was always running away from home. This was the third time in a week. "Yes sir!", both Menosis and Kaymen said in unison, and began their pursuit after the unmarked capsule. They caught up to her with ease, and Kaymen opened up the intercom system. "Lady Lily, eldest daughter of Lord Melosartifex! This is patrol unit 23! Stop your ship and comply or we will use force!" Kaymen put the message on repeat to make sure she couldn't ignore it. Suddenly an orange shockwave blasted from the unidentified ship, and the intercom went dead. She had emitted an EMP pulse, knocking out any electricity on the ship. Thankfully the new models of FIREFIGHTER were installed with rift power cores, to prevent such situations from happening, but the pulse knocked out his persisting message. "Damn kid shut me up. The intercom system is out!" Kaymen yelled over the COM channel. "She doesn't like the sound of your voice apparently." Menosis said casually. "Shut up." Kaymen replied, now annoyed. He picked up the radio and said to Astral, "Sir, she is not responding to the message, permission to use class B weapons?" The radio was silent until he heard Astral sigh heavily, "Confirmed, Pilot 1, you have access to class B weapons, repeat, you have confirmation." Kaymen smiled and chuckled in satisfaction "Your time is up, princess." Kaymen grinned as he flicked open the box and activated the Calico missiles. He fired. The projectile was like Lady Lily's EMP burst, however this missile was specifically designed to sabotage circuitry of any kind. The missile caught up to the craft and began to glide parallel to Lady Lily's ship, and then lightly tapping the hull. The projectile burst, sending electricity coursing across the small vessel. "Target hit." Kaymen grinned with satisfaction. The small ship then slowed to a stop, its lights and thrusters flickering incoherently, completely incapable of moving.

Lily

The Calico missile had really done her ship in. Lady Lily was quite alive and alright, but her ship was dead weight in the middle of space. She watched as the patrol ships began to close in on her, and the bottom hatch was opening to activate the tractor beam that would take her home. "Dammit! I don't want to go home! I don't want to meet any more of the suitors or those teachers! I want out! "She screamed in frustration. She paused. _Out_. Her eyes gleamed as she found an idea to complete her escape. They could warp jump to her location, which is…if they knew where she was. And if her devious plan worked, she wouldn't even know where she was. It was a mad idea, absolutely crazy and insane. But it just might work and get her away from that fake moon. "Time to play boys." She laughed as she went to work.

Kaymen

Ten minutes had passed, the tractor beam still charging and calculating, and Lady Lily had not made any move at all, which concerned Kaymen. Had the shot wounded her? Possibly even killed her? No. Calico missiles were not built for destruction, only maiming space vessels. She is certainly alive in there, but no sign of any movement had occurred. Then suddenly, the airlock latches began to unlock. "_She's up to something_." He whispered to himself. With that the cockpit windshield violently flew off, as if it were trying to get away, and then the face of Lady Lily poked out, smiling in her custom made drop suit, modeled and designed to withstand entering an atmosphere and keeping the person wearing it alive. She got out of the capsule, looked up at the FIREFIGHTER ships, and waved cheerfully. Kaymen opened up his COM channel. "Be careful Menosis, she is making this way too easy, and she is too cheerful for my likings. Proceed with caution." Kaymen said sternly. Menosis replied with a quiet "Aye, cap'n." A light blue button blinked on Kaymen's dashboard. The tractor beam was ready. Kaymen looked back at Lady Lily, who was waving both her arms now, with a big smile on her face. "_No tricks, princess. You are coming with us_." He activated the beam and right as it hit her ship, she turned around and jumped into open space. "I knew it! Dammit!" Kaymen watched as Lady Lily fumbled with something in her pocket, and brought out a deep blue cylinder that chilled Kaymen to the bone. "She's got the wormhole generator!" Kaymen quickly opened up the capital ship COM line and screamed at Astral" Sir! Emergency, Lady Lily has a wormhole generator; I repeat she has a wormhole generator!" The small tube was still under the high speculation of the engineering corps, but it was just as deadly. Still a prototype, the device was made to create a tear in the fabric of space. Detonating one would open a temporary wormhole to somewhere in the universe, and Lady Lily was going to enter it. Astral responded with "WHAT?! HOW IN LORD MELOSARTIFEX'S NAME DID SHE GET HER HANDS ON ONE OF THOSE?!" Lady Lily looked back at the two FIREFIGHTER ships, now crazed with radio signals, and pointed at the little cylinder, then, she attached a small signal to it and did the unexpected. She threw it at the patrol ships. Kaymen screamed at Menosis, "GET BACK! If that thing detonates anywhere near us, it'll split us in two!" Menosis didn't need to be told twice. He put his ship in forward and zipped away so he was behind Lady Lily. Kaymen followed quickly and said hastily, "Quick, beam her up! Otherwise we ar-"At that moment, Kaymen's radio was silenced as the device exploded, creating a rip in space. And just as Menosis fired the beam, Lady Lily jumped, towards the wormhole, and in it Kaymen saw a green and blue planet, with white caps on top and bottom. Clouds lined the surface of the strange planet. Kaymen quickly shot a picture of the planet inside, and the computer began analyzing the photo. As Lady Lily jumped though the space rip, the wormhole closed, sealing the space continuum once again. The computer beeped, showing a set of data tables and coordinates. Kaymen contacted Astral, saying, "Sir, she's escaped. But I managed to take a picture of the planet I saw through the wormhole, and I have managed to identify it." Astral breathed in heavily. "Where is this planet?" he said quickly. "The planet exists in the 27th sector of the third quadrant near the Elipsis Star-zone, and database says it is home to a sentient species." Kaymen replied quietly, "Its inhabitants call it…Earth."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The girl who fell from the sky

Earth, United States of America, New York suburbs, 15235 Riveria Dr.

9:14:43 am; Sunday the 15th of August

-One day earlier-

"_It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon_. Percy Steelman thought to himself as he groomed his flawless garden. _And to think the forecaster had called for the typical overcast_. Percy stood up and admired his array of tulips and sunflowers which complemented each other surprisingly well. Rose bushes lined the fence separating the house next door. The sweet smell of honeysuckle and jasmine filtered through the air. All beneath Percy's pride and joy, the tall oak tree that towered over most of the garden. Its long limbs reached across the garden, all the way to Percy's window. Placed beneath the tree was an old stone bench, the same bench that Percy's parents met each other on. His masterpiece of a garden was in full bloom, a rare occasion during this time of year. Percy smiled, satisfied with his work. _If all those Rockfell kids could see me now_. He said to himself. _Yeah, I don't think that'd be a good idea. _Back in his earlier years Lewis Rockfell and his thugs had stomped out the schools entire garden plot, and then framed Percy by taking a picture of him standing in the newly tossed garden with a trowel in his hand. But to those who knew him well at the time (which was not many people); they knew that Percy was the one who had always kept the gardens clean and lively. When the janitor was fired and the school had trouble finding another gardener, Percy had taken up the job to tend to the rapidly dying garden at every chance he got. Despite this though, the principal had still sentenced him to 3 weeks of detention and clean up after school. The Rockfell goons got away without as much as a referral. And he would have to deal with them at school tomorrow since all of them walked past him during lunch. Percy stepped back to admire his handiwork in his garden, and then put his tools away and went around to his front yard. He lived in a small two story apartment in the center of Long Island, with the shining city of New York glistening in the distance across the shimmering Atlantic. As he pushed the door open, he nearly ran into his little sister, Carmen, who was just on her way out to do shopping. "Hey Percy, you finished with your…addiction?" Carmen always was always teasing about his gardening habits. He liked to call his gardening a "guilty pleasure" or even a "therapeutic way to relieve stress", but his sister taunted him nonetheless, saying she would never have expected her brother to enjoy the company of his feminine side. "Yeah, I just finished." He replied with an edge in his tone. Carmen smirked, "Well, Mum and Dad where on the phone earlier, and they said once you were finished with your…work, to call them back." Percy pondered over her words. _Wow. Mom and dad wanted me to call them? I haven't heard from them, in almost a year now_. Percy's parents were hardly ever home. His mother worked for a telecommunications industry that was based overseas and his father was an archeologist, always off on some adventure whether it is in the rocky Himalayas or the Amazon rainforest. But they hardly ever talked except on the occasional phone call or on holidays even. This situation however, left Percy and Carmen to manage the household themselves. Percy picked up the phone and dialed a two way call so he could talk to his mother and his father. The phone rang three times before his mother picked up. "Hello this is Christina Steelman, telecomm manager of-," Percy cut her off, "Hi Mom." He said cheerily. "Percy sweetie, how have you been?" Percy's mother was the sweetest woman alive. "I'm doing great mom, you?" She responded with a quick hesitation. "Well-I've been good dear but I'm- I'm slightly worried honey. Weather news reports for New York is a category 2 hurricane is coming in from the south, and I wanted to warn you before it got there. Forecasters are claiming this is another out of the blue storm, so it could be hazardous. From what I understand the storm is still a ways away, but you'll have be ready." Percy was already trying to figure out how to get to the nearest shelter. "Okay mom, thanks for the info, so what's up with da-," Percy was cut off by static with his dad yelling at the top of his lungs. "Gerionimo! Woooooh!" Percy laughed at his dad's humor. "Hey dad, you going somewhere?" Percy said stifling a laugh. "Yeah I am Percy, right now I'm snowboarding down the side of Mount Everest, and it's AWESOME!" His mom piped up next "Yeah well if you break a leg and I won't be there to play Nurse Ouchie on you." She said sternly. This caught dad off guard, "Honey? Is that you?" Mom smirked, "You bet your bottom dollar it is." Dad laughed playfully, "Its good to hear from you again." he said with a spring, "Oh, that reminds me, hey Percy, I checked the reports and you got one heck of a wicked stor-," Mom cut him off with, "I already told him Robert." Dad stopped, "Ah I see. Well, good luck kiddo, now I gotta bolt, I think I caused a bit of an avalanche…" Percy heard a distant rumbling in the phone and his dad came back on again. "See you guys later. Love you Christina, and good luck my son! Toodles." And with a flourish in his voice dad was gone to deal with racing an avalanche. "I'm sure he'll be alright, this isn't the craziest thing he's done. Maybe when we get home for the holidays he can tell you about when he proposed to me right after he pushed me out of a plane." Percy smiled, "Okay mom, I'll talk to you later." His mom paused, before replying. "Be sure to stay safe sweetheart. I love you." Percy smiled, "I love you too mom. Come home soon." With that, Percy put the phone down. He leaned back into a nearby chair. While he waited for his sister to return, he switched on the television to see breaking news featuring the incoming storm. The hurricane ripped across the city of Columbia, South Carolina. Percy watched in awe as the viscous winds toppled an apartment complex. Lightening crackled and struck a nearby tree, setting it ablaze. The city had already been evacuated, but apparently a few cocky storm chasers decided to get footage of the madness. Suddenly, Percy watched as the camera was placed on the ground, the frame shuddering as it fell with a thud. A crack appeared on the screen as Percy listened to the panicking calls of men yelling to each other. Just before the film shut off, Percy saw a flash of light strike from a nearby park. More lightening crackled as a figure approached the fallen camera. Percy noticed the person was bearing a red baseball cap, its distinct Yankee emblem shining. The figures identity was difficult to read, but it appeared to be a young man, no older than Percy. The shadowed figure smiled, and the camera went black. Percy recoiled as he'd just noticed he'd been sitting on the edge of the chair. The channel cut back to the reporter frantically attempting to address questions arising from the once live footage. Percy shut off the television, sprinting up to his room on the second floor. He opened his door to reveal his bedroom. The window was cracked open, allowing the curtains to flow in the light breeze. His bed sheets were tucked in, crisp and clean. But Percy's point of interest was the object that lay on his bookshelf. Between _The Count of Monte Cristo _and _The tales of Aesop_ lay his father's baseball cap. The red hat shone in the morning sun, its Yankees logo clear and bright as day. _That's one heck of a coincidence._ Percy thought to himself. From downstairs Percy heard the front door open, and then slam shut. He ran back downstairs to see his sister unloading groceries on to the countertop. He approached her, quickly saying, "Did you see the news?" Without hesitation or acknowledgement, she replied with a curt, "No." Percy immediately detected something in his sisters tone. He stood closer to her, stopping her from finishing unloading the groceries. "Hey. What's wrong?" She pushed her hair back and looked at him. She had a small scratch on her lip. A small cut glistened red. He eyes were wide and angry. "Rockfell tried to harass me on my way home." Percy grabbed a nearby cloth and cleaned the blood from her face. "That's terrible. He needs to be dealt with." Carmen smirked. She took the cloth out of Percy's hand and set it on the counter. "Like I said Percy. He tried." She pulled a small object out of the grocery bag. A front tooth shone in the sunlight, which Percy could only assume to be Rockfell's own. Percy laughed, immediately understanding. She smirked with him. "Right after he hit me, I managed to slug him across his cheek. Apparently I hit him hard enough." She tossed the small tooth into the trash can and continued to unload groceries. Carmen had always been good in a scrap, ever since she was young. Despite Percy's size and weight she wouldn't hesitate to tackle him, and in her later years, she managed to hold her own just fine. She closed the fridge as she put the milk away, glancing at Percy for a moment. "By the way, Rockfell was pretty upset when I left him on the ground. I can only imagine he's planning on taking it out on you tomorrow, so watch your back." Percy frowned. He wasn't as much as a fighter at his sister. He'd never really had problems with anyone so he wasn't experienced in brawling. His sister had given him small amounts of schooling when she'd attempt to wrestle with him, but other than that, Percy was pretty harmless. Nevertheless, he knew he'd have to avoid Rockfell tomorrow, just so he wouldn't have to deal with the unnecessary attitude from the drama queen. As the sun rose over the sky, Percy updated his sister on the news that had come in, and the strange character he'd seen in the footage. Carmen seemed mildly interested, but she always seemed distant, her eyes staring away from him. They ate lunch on the porch of their small suburban house, enjoying the soothing breeze that shook the nearby trees. Before long the sun was setting over the Atlantic ocean. The sky was dyed red as they ate their dinner, listening to the distant noise of the nearby city until the street lights came on. After a quick read of his newest book "_Time with the Conways_", Percy went to bed, concluding a usual Sunday for him. However, this was the last day for awhile in which Percy would call it anything but normal.

Percy woke up at 6:45 in the morning, as per usual. His alarm clock rang, singing, "_If you like __Piña Colada__s_…".As much as he wanted to keep sleeping and enjoy the song, he stood up and tapped the clock, shutting it off. A storm was overhead this tragic Monday morning, bringing forth another five days before he could relax again. Heleft for school at seven o'clock, giving him plenty of time to walk. As he entered the school grounds, rain began to fall. He'd managed to stay relativity dry, flicking rain off his coat. As he dried himself, he heard a quiet voice come from nearby. "Hi Percy." He looked up from his pants to see Katelyn Booker. She had straight brown hair, deep blue eyes, and soft pale skin. She smiled pleasantly and waved at Percy. He smiled back, attempting to keep himself together. Katelyn had been his crush ever since they'd first met. He'd always do his best to be around her whenever he could, however he hadn't worked up the courage to tell her how he felt. He put his backpack into his locker, closed the door, and did his best to casually waltz over to where she stood. "How was your weekend?" Katelyn shrugged, apparently not very excited. "My family's off on a vacation to Europe, so it was just me. Typically I enjoy having a house to myself, but it was really boring." She fixed her hair with a mirror placed inside her locker. After closing her locker, she began to walk to class, Percy strolling right beside her. "How about yourself?" Percy did his best at a calm smile, but before he could reply, he was interrupted by a loud calling voice. "Hey Percy! Percy!" Percy paused to see none other than James Packer approaching him. James clapped Percy on his back. "Hey dude." He seemed to notice Katelyn last. "Oh hey, Kaaatelyn." He winked at Percy and gave his classic grin. James had been Percy's best and only best friend since they were young. As soon as they both met on the swing set in kinder garden, they really hit off with each other. However James had an incredible knack for his poor timing, like right now. He knew about Percy's heartache for Katelyn and instead of helping, just teased and goaded him about it. The first bell rang, signifying the remaining five minutes to get to class. As the bells finished ringing, Katelyn flinched. She hated being late for class, and immediately turned and ran. "See you around Percy!" Within a few moments she was out of sight. Percy walked to class accompanied by James, catching up on the weekend events. Percy said goodbye to his friend and sat down in class. His teacher had was always interesting to listen to as she talked, so Percy settled in as she began the history lesson. Time seemed to blur for the next few hours of school. He was eating lunch with James and Katelyn when the announcement bell came to life. "Attention all students and staff. This is not a drill. There is a hurricane approaching the New York area. It is moving at unusual speeds and direction. Please calmly evacuate the area and proceed to the nearest shelter." James smiled and pumped his fist. "I didn't do my physics homework last night, so this works out." Sammy slapped his leg and proceed to walk to the nearest exit. "We've got bigger things to worry about stupid." They all began to file out of the school, unaware of what was happening just outside Earth's atmosphere.

Lily:

Jumping through that wormhole made Lily feel queasy. However, she was more concerned about where she happened to be in the galaxy rather than what her stomach was telling her. She surveyed her surroundings as she drifted through open space. The green lush planet she saw on her way in was still there, delicately place like a beautiful glass marble. "So MACK, what's the stats on this one here?" MACK, her personal A.I. companion and spacesuit came to life at her command. "We happen to be very lucky Lady Lily." MACK lit up the screen on her visor with information regarding the planet below them. As she read, MACK rambled on about the atmospheric pressure and climate of the planet. She continued to read as she came across details regarding the species that inhabited this 'Earth'. She closed the data library and began to propel the suit straight for the planet below. "Nothing seems particularly too dangerous. Lets pop in for a visit." MACK, being his usual self, had something to say about her comment. "Lady Lily, I believe this is unwise." Lily rolled her eyes. "Why do you say that?" MACK paused. "Well, other than the possibly outdated information we found, we know nothing of this planet. What if these 'Earthlings' aren't friendly to extraterrestrials? We could be walking into a trap." Lily cursed her robot for being too smart sometimes. "Okay fine point taken, but were going anyways. The database said that the earthlings have been searching for life among the stars for a very long time." MACK was silent for only a few moments before replying. "Fine. However, battery power is very low. I will not be able to maintain the shields and the life support during entry to the atmosphere." Lily cursed. She stopped the suit and thought. Her eyes lit up as she felt a small bracelet tap against her wrist. The device had been a gift from her Uncle Rorqual. Lily could use it to teleport from her current location to another. The coordinate mechanic was broken, so she wouldn't be able to determine where she would wind up. But in her current situation, that was better than burning up in the atmosphere. "Okay MACK. Activate the shields and disable life support on my command. I'm going to beam down." MACK sighed at his mistress's stubbornness, but quietly continued the descent. Moments later MACK spoke. "We are five minutes from impact." Lily tapped her bracelet and it began to warm up. "Now MACK. Come find me as soon as you can." MACK silently complied, shutting down the oxygen tanks and pooling all remaining power to the shields. "See you around MACK." The A.I. replied with a curt. "I will be as quick as I can." With that Lily dissolved into light, teleporting down to the planet below.

Percy:

As they filed out of the school, Percy accompanied Katelyn on their journey to the shelter. As they walked, Percy felt the need to spill his feelings. He may not get another chance to confess, and as bad as a time it might be, Percy had to do it. "Hey Katelyn." Katelyn turned to Percy with her shimmering blue eyes, the lightening reflecting in them. "What's up Percy?" This intimidated Percy, watching her eyes flash, but he had to do this. "I just-" From behind Katelyn Percy saw something hurtling towards them. "Look out!" He tackled Katelyn out of the way just as a car landed where they were standing. Percy managed to spin himself so Katelyn landed on top of him. His head struck the ground, causing his vision to shudder. Katelyn stood up, shaking profusely. She helped Percy to his feet, asking "Are you alright?" Percy took a moment to breathe before he replied. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." They both turned to the wreckage that nearly killed them. A minivan had struck the concrete on the street, and then smashed into the building. Glass shards littered the ground and small groups of fire scattered around the area. Percy turned to his left and what he saw made his blood run cold. The colossal hurricane was moving their direction, leaving a wake of destruction in its path. Debris began to rain from the sky, missing them by only a throws length. A telephone pole struck a nearby building and wedged itself in a window. Percy skipped his feelings. Now was obviously not the time. The priority was getting safely to the shelter. He grabbed Katelyn's hand and began to run. "C'mon! We need to get out of here!" They both sprinted the remaining distance. As they turned the corner of 2nd and April street, Percy saw the shelter. It was a concrete building decorated with mural art stuck between a small café and a bank. They began to close in when the unthinkable happened. Percy slipped, his shoes losing their traction in a puddle. He fell down, slamming himself on the concrete of the street. He cursed to himself and picked himself up. Katelyn stopped to help him but he waved her off. "Don't worry about me. Get to the shelter. Go!" She saw the stern look in his eyes and continued to bolt for the door. She swung the shelter door open, holding it for Percy. He was less than 20 feet from the door when Katelyn's eyes flashed in fear. "Percy! Look out!" and with that she slammed the door closed. Before Percy could think, a grand piano slammed into the shelter door, blocking entry to the building. Now panicked, Percy stopped a moment to admire his terrible luck. He turned and ran to the next street, on route to home. His house had a small storm cellar inside, and it was only a few minutes away if he ran. Unfortunately it was his only option. As he passed through the central park,he turned to see the storm on top of him. The cloud swelled over him, tossing anything that wasn't tied down like a child would with toys. Suddenly, he saw something flying through the eye of the storm. The small object seemed to be going incredibly fast, as it was surrounded in a bright yellow light with a small trail of speckled dust behind it. It zipped quickly through the center of the storm and crashed to the ground without a sound. A few moments later the sonic boom followed behind it as the shockwave pushed the hurricane in every direction, causing it to break apart. The clouds practically were hurled away, and now the object was about 100 yards away, and it was still bouncing and skidding along the ground. Percy then not only realized it was a humanoid shape, but also that it was headed straight for him, still going about 50 miles per hour. "_Uh-oh_." He thought as he started sprinting away from the object. The object bounced and skid so much that Percy winced to think of what was happening to whatever it was, if it was even alive. He kept running until he felt something touch him. The fallen object had caught up to him. Now going about 20 miles per hour, the object seemed to have put him in its grasp. It grabbed his arms and brought him close, turned on its back so he wouldn't get hurt as they eventually slowed down. Percy winced as he kept getting bruised by the suit when they tumbled over the ground. The object that was holding on to him had hit the sidewalk and lost most of its momentum as its head struck the curb. Finally, with one last tumble, they both flipped over and landed in the grass, Percy first. "Owwwwwww….."He complained as his head hit the firm but soft ground. The now visibly damaged object landed on top of him, pinning him down, collapsing on his chest, winding him. After Percy assessed his wounds, which were just a few bruises and scratches, he looked up at the armored figure still on top of him. Percy's was so emotionally strung out he simply said, "Are you alright?" The figure didn't respond. Percy managed to slide out from underneath the body then flipped it over so it was facing the sky. The armor was decorated with beautiful circular designs, creating a mesmerizing pattern. It seemed to be almost unscathed from the fall, aside from the fact it had a huge dent in the visor. It appeared to be a feminine figure, with curved arms, legs and torso. Percy put his head down to the visor to try to see inside, but he couldn't make out any sort of figure in there at all. He looked over the armor again, and noticed a small piece of the chest plate that was flashing light blue. Percy knew he shouldn't touch the button; he had no idea what it would do. But nothing else was working so he gave the little button a light tap. From inside, he could hear what sounded like latches unlocking, and he stepped back as the entire suit began to open down the middle, as if the strange armor was designed to do so. As it began to unravel like a zipper, Percy realized that there wasn't anything inside the suit; it was just an empty shell. _It's empty? How did it catch me? _Suddenly, a blue light lit up the entire suit and it began to close, Percy took a step back as the suit came to life on its own, clearly some kind of AI robot. The suit then stood up, and began looking around, as if surveying the area. Its vision then locked on Percy. Percy was paralyzed, he knew if he ran this thing was likely to chase after him. The two stood there for a few moments, staring at each other, when the suit began to talk. "My apologies, earthling, I did not anticipate that I would be skidding across the ground at the speed of sound." Percy was shell-shocked. The suit spoke up again. "I must have frightened you quite a bit. I can see your heart race escalating and you are beginning to persperate." The suit began to walk towards him, and it looked at him "Oh goodness, I haven't introduced myself." It offered its hand "I am MACK, a mark 2 dropsuit designed and customized by Lady Lily, eldest daughter of Lord Melosartifex." Percy screamed like a girl. The suit slapped a hand over his mouth. "My sincerest apologizes human, but if the local authorities discover me, I may have some serious trouble getting to Lady Lily." Percy batted his hand away. "This is freaking insane, I just got saved by an alien robot that has a perfect English dialect." The alien looked at Percy quizzically and said, "I did in fact initially speak this dialect when I landed here, human. Such a smooth language, I truly enjoy it." The suit then stepped closer and said, "I have learned that each human on this planet has a name, an identification word that represents each person. What is yours? Unless, you would prefer me to call you human." Percy stared at the AI robot. "Uhhh….my na-me?" he said stupidly. The robot replied with "Yes, your name, it typically contains a vowel." Percy replied with strength in his voice this time, "My name is Percy…Percy Steelman." The robot seemed puzzled. "Percy…what an interesting name. According to Earth's records, Perseus was a Greek hero. Percy Spencer was the co-inventor of the microwave oven. Percy Fawcett explored most of Southern America, and then disappeared without a trace. Tell me, Percy…are you famous?" Percy was stupefied by this machines capability to know all these things. "Um, no I'm not actually, but nowadays that's almost a good thing." The robot looked down thoughtfully. "I see." It said "My home planet had famous persons as well, but from what I understand being famous there is a lot like being famous here. It makes one quite mad with power." The robot, MACK as he called himself, seemed to dwell on this. Percy piped up "So…what brings you to earth then?" The robot perked up. "I was helping my mistress escape from her father, Lord Melosartifex, even though I told her it was unwise. We went through a wormhole just as we were almost captured, and that wormhole took us here. My systems failed as we entered the atmosphere, and she teleported away somewhere to stay alive while I took the impact. And now I have to find her signal." The robot then activated something from the inside and a little satellite dish popped out of his shoulder. He began to circle around, making the little dish twirl all over the place. Then suddenly the dish began to light up and beep nosily. The robot puffed up triumphly. "Hah! I found her, she's that way!" Percy looked at the robot quizzically. "Allow me to walk with you; if someone sees you walking alone they are going to get suspicious." The robot looked at him and said, "And how will walking with you make me look less suspicious?" Percy turned towards MACK and said, "You could pass of as some cosplayer if you walk with me, and besides i need someone to talk with after everything that has happened today." MACK studied him. "Alright, let's be off then." The robot began walking directly east. Percy stopped him "Whoa, Whoa, there, you go that way and you'll have to go through the Atlantic Ocean. Follow me; we need to go around the water. Just follow me." The robot paused, the replied with, "Very well Percy, lead the way." And with that they were off to find Lady Lily.

Lily:

Lily had teleported successfully and safely, but she had no idea where she was. She had warped into a room with a window and a skylight. In the far corner of the room was a neat bed with all the sheets done and tucked in. Next to that was a small table with a lamp on top. The wall with the window was decorated with beautiful pictures of all sorts of colors that Lily couldn't help but admire. The wall behind her was a huge bookcase filled from top to bottom with all sorts of different books and novels. She walked over to one of the shelves. _If this planet is to be my new home, I'd better teach myself the language of the species that live here_. She picked off a book from the case and was puzzled in that it was her own language. She had read halfway through her book when she heard someone come into the house she was in, and they seemed out of breath. "Where the heck is Percy…" The person said. It sounded like a little girl, no older than 11. She heard the girl walking around then she heard a "wumfh" that sounded like the girl had plopped down on a couch. Moments later the little girl was snoring quietly. _She's asleep, so I'm assuming she is going to be out for a while_. Lily continued reading 20,000 leagues under the sea, and Captain Nemo was about to fight off a giant squid. She gripped the book with excitement. _Hopefully MACK finds me soon, I couldn't be that far away_… Lily then sat back down on the bed and continued reading.

Percy

They had been walking for hours now, and Percy began to notice that they were walking through his neighborhood. "My house is just a few blocks down from here." He said to MACK. MACK studied him. "I have read that humans live within a family, or their close relatives. Do you live with your family Percy?" Percy gazed up at the now dark sky, studying the array of stars. "Just my little sister Carmen. My mom has work overseas, and my dad is an archeologist, so we hardly ever talk. But we get together during the holiday season every year." The robot seemed to ponder on this. "I see. Back at Lady Lily's home, if a family member acquires a job, the entire company must either move their location to your immediate family, or create a way to make sure you never have to leave your family for a long time, yet allow you to work. Teleporters are commonly used to prevent entire corporations from having to pack their bags and move out." Percy was stunned. " Teleporters, huh? Those species must be incredibly advanced." MACK nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, the Materians have been around nearly seven million years so they have had plenty of time to…oh dear." MACK began to stumble and wobble as he walked. Percy grabbed him and supported him up. "What's wrong MACK?" MACKs eyes began to dim. "My main power conduit is shutting down. I am currently 'running on empty' as the saying goes." And with that the robot totally collapsed. "Well I'm not going to just leave you here; I guess you can spend the night at my house." Percy said. Percy picked up MACK and put him in the piggy back position, struggling under the weight of the heavy robot. As he walked down his street, he saw the lights were on in his house, in his room to strangely enough. "Carmen! She got home safe!" Percy began to jog and as it turned out carrying the equivalent of his own weight was harder than he expected. As Percy reached the door, he had to put MACK down to open it and as he went grab the doorknob, Carmen opened it and gave him a huge bear hug. "Oh my goodness Percy! I'm so glad you are alright!" Her gaze shifted to the collapsed robot and she screamed. "What on this green earth is that thing?!" Percy smiled, "This is MACK, long story. Let me in and I'll explain." Percy picked up MACK and walked inside. "Well make sure his feet are clean! I just vacuumed the entire floor." She said with edge in her voice.

Lily:

As she was just finishing 'Of Mice and Men', Lily heard some commotion downstairs, outside the room. Someone had entered the house, and they were grunting and walking heavily. She heard a males voice talking to the smaller feminine voice. She was tempted to go down and reveal herself, but she felt that would get her into trouble. She was doing her best to listen in on the conversation downstairs. She knew it was rude, but she needed some kind of information, if anything. She thought she heard the masculine voice say MACK, but she wasn't sure. _I really hope MACK is ok, I'm sure he couldn't have run into any trouble_. Then she heard something flop down on a couch, and then heard the two other humans sat down with loud 'Pfffffss' . _There is something else down there_…she whispered to herself. She needed a better hearing place. She opened up the door without a sound and looked around, there were two other doors and a staircase leading downward, where the voices were coming from. _I hope MACK finds me soon_…She thought as she crept down the carpet staircase.

Percy did his best to make sure he gave Carmen all the details about the robot lying on her couch. He also explained to her how MACK was the bodyguard and companion of this princess whose father ruled most of the known universe. "…and I think I've told you all of today's events." He said calmly. Carmen looked slightly shaken by this. "Ok, well I believe you in that this is the truth, but if this is her bodyguard, then where is this 'Lady Lily' located?" Percy was curious at this question as much as Carmen was. "If I knew, MACK would already be with her-," Percy was cut off by a high beeping sound coming from MACKs visor. The little satellite dish was going haywire and a message from the robot began to play. "Lady Lily, this is MACK. Trust code 17258. Repeat Lady Lily, this Is MACK one and I am aware of your presence." The voice then shut off and MACK was silent once again. Carmen stared at the strange robot. "That is one weird machine." Carmen said with no exaggeration in her voice. Suddenly, footsteps began charging down the staircase and Carmen's jaw dropped. "Nobody else should be in this house! Unless maybe…" Percy finished her sentence. "Lady Lily has warped into our house."

Lily:

Lily spun around the corner into what appeared to a living room, and came face to face with two humans, who were staring at her, a young male and a small female, mouths agape in shock. "Hi!" She said cheerfully. She scanned the room until she saw MACK stretched out on the couch, his arms and legs splayed and a huge dent in his helmet. "Oh goodness MACK are you alright?!" MACK didn't respond. Lily rushed to his side and put her hand to the forehead of the robot. "_His batteries are empty; he just needs some time to recharge_…" Lily said thoughtfully. The boy behind her spoke up. "I'm assuming you're Lady Lily?" Lily spun around and looked at the earthling. "Yes." She said shyly. "My name is Percy Steelman; this is my sister, Carmen Steelman." He pointed to the girl across the room. "Hi." Carmen said with a big smile on her face. This was the first time anyone on the outside of the palace had spoken to her. "How did you come across him?" Lily inquired to Percy. Percy laughed and said "Well it started when he landed on me, and then he saved my life. I walked with him while we were looking for you when he suddenly collapsed. Is he alright?" Lady Lily was puzzled. This…Percy had made friends with MACK? "Yeah, he's fine; he just needs a few hours to recharge. After that he will begin repairs on his system, and then he will be fully functional again. Percy nodded quietly. "He told me everything, you know. How you were running away…" Lily lightly cursed her robot. MACK had such a blabber mouth at times. Percy explained to Lily what had happened, how MACK had dissipated the hurricane and saved Percy in the process. "Are you going to take me home?" Lily finally said. Percy looked at her, then to Carmen and laughed loudly. "Even if we wanted to, I don't think we would be able to. I don't think you know this but the human race just recently went into space, so our kind is still taking baby steps in space travel. If you need a place to stay while you are visiting earth, we have a guest room down the hallway." Lily was shocked. A human had just been informed that an alien had teleported into his bedroom, then after experiencing what he had today, and he was still willing to lend a hand to someone. "Thank you; you are a very kind human." Percy smiled widely. "Hardly." And with that Percy stood up and said to her, "This way." Lily stood up and walked up the stairs with him. "While I was here waiting in your room, I read most of the books in your bookcase." Percy looked at her and said. "I'm impressed; apparently you're a much more avid reader than I. You can borrow them as much as you like." Percy opened the door on the left side and showed her in. "You can stay here for now." He said as he opened the door. The room wanted to make her jump up and down in joy, but Astral and his two space jockeys standing on the rug ruined the image. "Lady Lily…" Astral said with confidence. "I'll admit it wasn't easy getting here, with that stunt you pulled involving a wormhole generator, but now it is time to come home."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A way out

Earth, United States of America, New York suburbs, 15235 Rivera Dr.

10:34:07 pm; Sunday the 15th of August

Percy:

Percy had been through a lot in one day. He has survived a hurricane, talked to a robot from another world, met an alien princess and then invited her to stay. So when he looked in guest room he somehow was not surprised to be looking at what appeared to be three superhumans standing in his guest room. The one in the middle was decorated in armor that added a few inches to his body structure. He was about 6 foot 2 with grey whitish hair and his armor was decorated with such royalty he almost looked like Thor had taken steroids and then bleached his hair. His two buddies on either side of them were in suits that looked just like MACK, but with less designs and decoration. Their suits glowed orange. "Lady Lily…" the man in the center spoke in a booming voice. "I'll admit it wasn't easy getting here, with that stunt you pulled involving a wormhole generator, but now it is time to come home." Percy looked back at Lady Lily and she was fuming with rage. The man spoke up again, "My apologies Earthling, but whatever Lady Lily has told you is not true, she is actually the eldest daughter of the ruler of the known universe, Lord Melosartifex." Percy was puzzled. "That's exactly what she told me." The character seemed to be taken aback. "Well, then she told you the truth, my mistake." Astral said calmly, "Please do not interfere, I do not wish to cause any bloodshed." He began to walk towards Lily. Percy stepped in the way. "From what I understand, Lily just wants some time to herself. Is she not allowed time to relax before she returns?" The knight drew his sword. It was a long blade that glowed menacingly, light emitting from the sword. "Human, I do not contemplate such questions. I simply follow orders, and my orders are to retrieve Lady Lily and bring her home. I will not ask you again, step aside." Astral waved his sword like a cattle prod. A sudden rush of adrenaline then began to flow through Percy. He'd probably end up sealing his own doom, but he was not going to let this go. "Well, then I guess you are just wasting your breath." Percy then bounced a nearby soccer ball off his shin, and kicked it home directly at Astrals face. It struck him with surprising force and he stumbled back into his goons. Percy turned towards Lily. "Run. NOW!" Percy bolted and grabbed Lily's hand. They said a quick 'bye' to Carmen as they bolted out the door. As she ran with him, she asked, "Percy, do you know what you've done? Astral will not stop until he gets me and then he is going to kill you!" Percy simply shrugged and began climbing up a ladder and onto the rooftop with Lily right behind him. "Yeah I probably should have considered that." Percy said back quickly. They were now bolting across the rooftop of his neighborhood, something he knew realtively well as he would come up here on sunny days to do his homework. He was running and he had no idea where to go, but he needed to hide, and fast. Lily then spoke up. "Hey Percy…" Percy looked at her as they ran. "You do realize that I had the situation under control?" Percy stopped. "What?" He said questionably. "I had a plan to take care of Astral and his goons if they showed up before I even reached Earth. But it makes me happy to know you are willing to help someone in need." Lily smiled brightly, "I wish everyone I knew were like you." This shocked Percy immensely. He couldn't help but blush at her words. "You give me too much credit Lily; there are plenty of people out there like me." Lily face flushed as well at this. "I bet there are, but you would put them all to shame, I'm sure of it." Percy would have sat there and mushed over her words all day if he hadn't been interrupted by a now angry group of aliens that were intent on killing him. They stopped about 60 yards away from them. "Lady Lily, you are coming with us. And you, Earthling, will be tried for kidnapping of Lady Lily and assault on the Captain of the Royal guard!" Astral screamed at them. "Lily, we need to go now!" Percy grabbed Lily but she shook him off. "I'm done running." She said sternly. "I need to take care of this now." With that Lily stepped in front of Percy and faced Astral. Astral looked taken aback, probably because normally Lily would be sprinting away from him, but now she was walking towards them. She then said to Astral, "Astral, you have come far to retrieve me, and I am annoyed at your stubbornness, but I do understand you are under orders from my father. So I will now disappear from your reaches forever." And with that she pulled a small cube out of her pocket, tossed it towards Astral, and yelled, "Hello Decibel. Initiate attack sequence. Do not kill." The small cube unfolded and transformed into a small droid, no taller than Percy's knee. The cute yet frightening device raised its arm, a cannon mounted on its wrist. Lily gripped Percy's hand, and spoke to Percy. "Decibel attacks anything that isn't me. The only exception is if I am holding on to anyone, they are spared." Percy was redder than his shirt. It's not that Percy wasn't listening, just that pretty girls didn't hold his hand often. Astral sprinted towards the machine, sword at the ready, with his two minions following closely behind. Just before Astral reached the tiny robot, a shockwave of bass emitted from the cannon mounted on Decibels arm. The wave of sound crashed over Astrals face, and he collapsed to the ground, his minions apparently struck as well. Percy let go of Lily and ran over to the robot. "Wow! That was amazing Lily, how did it do that?" He turned to Lily and she had a horrified look on her face. "Percy, I told you not to let go of my hand…" she said quietly. Percy was confused for a few seconds, then realized what was about to happen. Percy cursed as he turned just in time to see the robot blast him point blank with its cannon, throwing him backwards on his butt. Decibel began to fire bass at him, giving him an awful headache, then eventually, making him pass out. But before he completely lost consciousness, he heard a loud crackling in the air, then Lily's desperate voice talking to a big booming humming. All he caught from the conversation was, "Stay….come home…found love."

-Monday-

He awoke the next morning to his alarm blaring at 6:32 am. Percy's eyes then adjusted and he stood up, yawning and stretching simultaneously. He then remembered what had happened the day before. _Must've just been a dream,_ Percy thought. He got dressed and headed downstairs. Carmen had left his breakfast on the counter with a note next to it. The note read, "Morning Percy, I had to leave early this morning, I had to work on some stuff at school. Enjoy your breakfast! Love, Carmen." Percy looked up at the plate and it was a plate of eggs and bacon, his two favorites. As he scarfed it down, he pondered yesterday's events. _Could they have been real? What if it wasn't just a dream?_ Percy put these thoughts aside. More important things needed to be taken care of. Percy looked at the clock. It was 6:50. _Important things like not being late to school! _Percy hurrily finished his breakfast, and was out the door by 7:00._ I'll worry about this whole alien escapade when I get home, _Percy thought as he ran down his driveway and began jogging to school.

Percy had gotten to school at 7:25, just as the five minute bell rung. He didn't have time to chat with his best friend James unfortunately, but he had plenty of time to spend with him later. Percy was sure James could go one morning without hanging out with him. As Percy reached the door to his first class, World History, he nearly ran into Katelyn. She was just as pretty as he'd last seen her. She wore her long dark hair so that it always swept into her eyes. He'd go crazy every time she brushed her bangs out of her eyes, leaving a small strand or two unraveled. She then tackled him in a bear hug. "Percy! You're okay! After the shelter was closed, I was really scared for you." Percy did his best to reply with a casual shrug. "Nah, I was fine." She smiled at him, and then began to walk along with Percy. "Are you doing anything on Friday?" Percy was stunned. _Is Katelyn about to ask me out on a date?! Is today my lucky day?! _Percy replied with calm, "Uh, no I don't think I am actually." _Nailed it_, Percy applauded himself. Katelyn smiled. "Well Sammy and I are going to the homecoming game this Friday, and she's bringing her boyfriend. See, I didn't want to be the third wheel because they are going to be all over each other. So I was wondering if you could tag along with me." Percy would've sold his soul for an opportunity like this. "Yeah, I mean…if you want me there, I will." Katelyn let out a smile that Percy wanted to see for the rest of his life. "Okay then, I'll see you there." And with that she walked inside the classroom with Percy right behind her. Before he walked in though, he thought he saw running Lily down the hallway, her blonde hair flying behind her like rays of a sun. She was wearing jeans and a green t-shirt, and toting a blue satchel swung over her arm. He nodded it off, chiding himself for seeing things. As the final bell rung, Percy sat down in his seat. Mrs. Hemmsworth, their teacher began to babble on about some revolution that happened a century ago, but Percy was too busy thinking about how amazing Friday was going to be. The teacher kept going on until she was interrupted by a knock at the door. then spoke up. "Oh, that's right. It's really unexpected at this time of year, considering we are almost halfway through the semester, but please welcome the new transfer student. Come on in!" _What? A transfer student? In the middle of the year? Unheard of_. Percy turned to see who was walking through the door and he should've seen it coming. A girl with long blonde hair, light skin, and deep green eyes walked in. _No way_. Percy's jaw dropped as he was looking at none other than Lily Melosartifex, the girl who fell from the sky.

"Hi Percy!" Lily waved across the room. Percy was stunned, but he managed to make out a shy, "Hi." back to her. spoke up again. "Well, so you two know each other?" She said with a lift in her voice. "Yeah, we kind of ran into each other." Percy replied. puffed up like a whale, "Well then, Lily, you can sit right behind Percy, and since Percy is already the odd one out, you can be his partner for the activities." Lily bounced happily over to where Percy sat and took a seat right behind him. Percy whispered to her, "How are you still here? How are you even attending this school?" Lily pointed a finger at him. "I talked to my dad about staying for the time being, we argued about it for awhile, but then he said I could stay as long as I was still being educated and I was still protected. Astral is going back to the capital ship to bring a small living vessel for himself. And he convinced the principal to allow a transfer student to enroll this late in the school year. He says as long as I have Astral, MACK, and you to protect me I can stay." She said matter-of-factly. Percy pondered this for a minute, and then spoke "Where are you going to live? And me? Protect you? I can hardly protect my cookie jar." Lily didn't seem bothered by this. "No matter, I can handle most encounters, and worse come to worse I can just call in Astral to help. As for a living space, I was hoping your offer for the guest room was still open." Lily gave Percy a crocodile tear face and Percy started batting at her. "You don't need to get all puppy dog eyes on me to stay. Just make sure Carmen is still okay with it and you're in." Lily looked like she might combust with happiness. "Thanks a load Percy, now, we learn about Earth's history!" Percy turned his head around back to the teacher, who had surprisingly not noticed their conversation. Percy pulled out some paper and began writing down the notes about the French revolution. _Excellent. My life is basically some Japanese anime now, _Percy thought quietly.

Lily:

Lily could not have been happier. She was finally free from her father. As long as she played by the rules and didn't cause any suspicion, she would be good. After class Percy had compared schedules with her and found that they had not just history, but also Algebra 2 and P.E. together as well. The only class where she would have to manage on her own was English, her next class. She swung into the room and sat down in a seat. After a few moments of silence, she noticed two other girls in desks across from her. She stood up and walked over to them. "Hi." She said cheerfully. "I'm Lily." She stuck out her hand. The two other girls looked up at her. One girl had black hair that went down to her shoulders and blue eyes that seemed to glimmer. She was almost as tall as Lily, who was close to five and a half feet tall. The other girl was shorter, with very light blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a smile that was very welcoming. The taller one answered first. "Hi. I'm Katelyn Booker." She shook her hand and smiled. Then the other one piped up. "Sammy Dewitt. Hey…aren't you the new girl?" Lily beamed at both of them. "Yep, that's me. I wanted to make some friends quickly at school, and you guys look cool." Katelyn took a sudden interest in her shoes, and seemed to ponder on this. "Do you have any other friends here at school?" This made Lily perk up. "Yes, in fact I do. Do you know Percy Steelman?" Katelyn twitched at his name and Sammy chimed in, "Yeah, the kid that dug up the garden in elementary school? I know him." Katelyn flushed at her comment. "I'm telling you, I don't think Percy did it. He was always taking care of the plants, why would he tear them out? And it's not like anyone was taking care of them anyways." Lily was taken aback by this, "You mean Percy dug up the schools garden?" Katelyn gave her a nod, "At least that's what was rumored, I don't believe it though. I think it was Rockfell and his goons, they were the ones who showed me the picture after all." Lily pondered on this. Percy didn't seem like the kind of guy that would do such a thing, but she didn't know him well enough to be sure. "I'll ask Percy about it after school today." Lily smiled happily. Katelyn nodded, "Go ahead, but don't mention me please, I know it's a touchy subject with him and I wouldn't want him to think I was trying to sell him out." Lily nodded, "Okay Katelyn, I'll tread carefully." Lily smiled and strolled back to her seat in front of the classroom as the class begun.

English had been a breeze for Lily. The teacher was very impressed with Lily's large vocabulary as well as her fondness for literature. The bell rung signifying lunchtime and Lily went to find Percy. She found him, Katelyn, Sammy and Percy's lifelong friend, James Packers all eating lunch outside of the gym. Mathematics came next, and Lily was seated in the back, with Percy on her right, James, to her left, and Katelyn across from her. Lily and James quickly became friends after discovering they both enjoyed reading. _This is awesome, I am constantly surrounded by people who I can trust and depend on_, Lily thought to herself happily. They spent the entire class period learning about vectors and how to reflect shapes across a coordinate plane. After that finished up, Lily changed into shorts and a t-shirt and went to her P.E. class. With Percy as her partner, Lily played tennis for the very first time and had it nearly perfected by the time they finished class. Afterwards, they walked home spent the rest of the day doing homework and enjoying each other's company. Later that evening, Lily and Percy were sitting on the porch, sipping iced tea as they watched the sun set. They both were seated on a swinging chair when Lily remembered how Katelyn and her had discussed the garden being dug up. She spoke up. "Hey Percy, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." She needed to be careful, as to not offend him. Percy looked at her, asking, "What is it?" Lily, now embarrassed, looked down. "I heard about what happened back in elementary school…about the school garden, and I was wondering if you want to talk about it." Lily looked up at Percy expecting a look of shock, disgust, or even anguish, but what she saw, was a bright smile. Percy was smiling at something that most the school had looked down on him for. "Sure, we can talk about it." Lily replied with a shy, "I was wondering if you could explain it to me, truthfully, I won't tell anyone." Percy smiled even brighter at this. "I'm glad you are interested, when I was framed, nobody bothered to listen what I had to say." Percy took a sip of his tea then sat back. "It was towards the end of my 4th grade year, when the janitor was fired, because he was apparently doing shady business. Mind you, he was framed by the same guy that framed me. When I saw the picture of him 'caught in the act', I could easily see that it a fake. I didn't say anything for a few months, but I began to notice the school's garden was slowly dying since it was lacking the janitors care. So I bought some fertilizer, got myself a trowel, and a watering bucket. I talked to the principal and he supported it, giving me a few bucks every week for fertilizer. I would show up an hour early to school every day to take care of the garden and keep it alive. This went on for a month or so. One day I was getting some more money from the principal, I told him that the janitor was framed by Rockfell. The principal then called Rockfell in, and they talked apparently. Rockfell had played dumb and gotten away with it yet again. Then, he somehow figured out that I ratted him out. He and his buddies went out early in the morning, and pulverized the entire garden; they kicked up the soil, spilled the fertilizer all over it, and then hid in the bushes, with their camera ready. That was about the time I showed up normally to take care of the garden. With my trowel in my hand, I looked over my devastated garden. Rockfell sprung out of the bushes, laughing at me. I spun around and he clicked his camera, a perfect picture of me with a surprised look on my face, just like I was caught in the act." Percy pulled out his wallet, opened it up, and pulled out a small piece of paper. He unfolded it, and then handed it to Lily. She gasped as it was revealed to be a picture of a younger, scrawny version of Percy. His mouth was open in shock, and a trowel held tightly in his hand. Lily's eyes got teary as behind Percy, in the background, was a pavilion with a walkway down the middle with a fountain in the center. The walkway was covered in dirt and grime, the fountain water brown with slick mud. The dirt plots on the side looked like they were newly tossed, wet soil was everywhere. "A few hours afterwards I was sentenced to 3 weeks of detention and lunch duty by the principal. He claimed that I took out my anger on the garden because my accusation of Rockfell was wrong." Percy took the photo back, folded it, and stuck it back in his wallet. "Why do you keep it? Why not just throw it away?" She asked. He gazed at the now setting sun and said, "When I told my parents the truth about what really happened, my mother was outraged. She wanted to call the school. But my dad simply sat down next to me and told me the truth is always the least popular rumor. So I let it go, and moved on. Lily set her tea down and placed it on the chair. "Percy I am so sorry, that's awful." She said to him sadly. He replied with, "Well it helps because anyone that believes it I wouldn't want to be friends with them anyways." Percy's face then changed and he became redder than a tomato. His cheeks were red. "Uh, Lily…" He looked down at the area between them. Lily had subconsciously placed her hand on top of Percy's. She was gripping his hand tightly. Lily looked up and made eye contact with Percy, their faces were no more than a foot away from each other. She saw a universe in his hazel eyes, whole galaxies stretching across them. Beautiful spirals and colors as millions of stars captivated her vision so much she couldn't look away. Percy blinked, and it all went away. "Uhhhh. Lily?" Percy was now completly flushed, from his chin to forehead. _Uh-oh_. Lily thought. A few moments passed before she was jolted back to reality as the door crashed open, and MACK stepped out in a flowery apron, with a bowl of soup in each hand. "Soupe a la tomate!" MACK set down a bowl on their laps. "For the happy couple." Percy's cheeks returned to their natural color. "We are not a couple!" MACK looked at Lily, then back at Percy. "Yeah, ok. Enjoy your soup anyways." MACK waved his hand and ruffled his apron and went back inside. Lily took her hand away from Percy's and began to rub it like she sprained it. Percy stood up and said, "Well, it was nice to talk to you, but I'm going to head into bed now." Percy yawned and wiped his eyes. "Goodnight Lily." Lily replied with a quiet "Goodnight Percy." As Percy went inside, she thought about all the men that had tried to swoon her back at the palace. They would become so desperate to even have Lily look at them. They would be on their knees, begging her to marry them. She would always turn them down of course, sometimes twice in a month. But what puzzled Lily was that Percy wasn't trying to get at her, he wasn't trying to marry her, or even attract her attention. Percy was treating her like a friend, and this was making her fall deeper in love every second they were together.

Percy:

Percy went to bed wondering what just happened. One minute him and Lily are sitting on the porch sipping tea, next her hand is on his and she's staring at him like she's petrified. Then to make things worse MACK comes out in Carmen's apron, addresses them as being 'together' then serves them soup. As he stretched out on his bed, looking at his ceiling fan, he wondered if Lily had a crush on him. He shoved aside the thought._ Yeah…no. Lily probably has some other alien crush back home that is as more crushed on her. And even if she did what would I even say to her. Also dating an alien is kinda weird. I wouldn't want to break her heart, but I'm after Katelyn still. _Percy kept muttering to himself until he fell asleep, completely exhausted.

Tuesday

Percy woke to the smell of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and sausages cooking. _uhhhh….yes! _Percy cheered to himself. Carmen was making a breakfast buffet downstairs. Percy literally threw himself downstairs and was shocked to see what was going on. In his kitchen MACK (still in his sisters apron) was cooking sausages and flipping eggs almost simultaneously, Carmen and Lily were both packing lunches, and Astral and his two buddies were seated at the table, moaning and sighing about how good the food was. MACK was the first to notice Percy had woken up. "Good morning, Percy, it appears I am exceedingly good a cooking as well as multi-tasking." MACK flipped an egg in the air and it landed on his face, making him look a robot with an egg eye patch. Carmen and Lily turned. "Good morning, Percy!" Lily shouted. She began to blush. "And, uh, nice pajamas too." Percy looked down at what he was wearing. He had a worn out tie dye shirt that was several sizes too big and pants with all sorts of different smiley faces printed on it. "Quiet, don't judge me." Percy made a face and got his breakfast. He sat down across from Astral and his two companions and made quick conversation with them. "You guys get that spaceship house here?" Astral looked at him thoughtfully. "We are still working out the kinks with the teleporter between the ship and your house. And, now that we are on the subject, where would you suggest we put the exit? We need a place out of the way as well as always empty so we don't break anything coming through." Percy looked up from his plate and said, "You may want to talk to Carmen about that, I wouldn't be the best person to find a spot." Astral pondered this. "Yes, very well, I will speak with Carmen after she finishes this thing you earthlings call 'school'." He made finger quotation marks. With that he and his friends stood up. "Until then, we will need to find suitable cloths for Earth, so we will be at such place called the 'Mall'." Astral made quotation marks with his fingers. "Thank you for the meal Carmen and MACK…" MACK looked up at Astral. "Get rid of the ridiculous 'apron'." Once again, Astral quotation marked in MACK's direction. MACK was very taken aback by this as Astral and his friends walked out the door, off to the mysterious land of 'mall'. Percy chuckled to himself at this as he got dressed and prepared for school. _Today is a new day, _Thought Percy_. Let's make it the best." _What Percy didn't realize that it was a new day, a new day perfect for preparing and protecting Lily from an alien invasion.


End file.
